The Way Things Used to Be
by Damariscottaa
Summary: Diana Atkins was best friends with Bruce Wayne when they were teenagers. After he went away she lost all contact with him and like the rest of the world, assumed he was dead. She is shocked when he returns to Gotham. As she gets closer to him again she starts to see what he's planning for himself and the rest of the City. Set during Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne/OC
1. Chapter 1

They had been best friends sincethey were ten and eight-year-olds; they had met at a carnival just outside of Gotham. They had both been on the Ferris wheel. Being a very outgoing girl, Diana started talking to Bruce quickly became relationship grew and as they got older they continued to meet up with each other over the years. At the time Diana lived in a small rural town in Maine and Bruce lived in Gotham City. They would visit each other on school vacations and were friends up until they were eighteen and sixteen when Bruce left. It had started with a fight.

"_What do you mean you're leaving?"_

"_I'm just leaving," he said._

"_Where are you leaving to?"_

"_Diana I don't know yet,"_

"_You can't just leave without knowing where you're going," Bruce shut the last drawer on his dresser and shut his suit case and turned for the door. Diana stood in the doorway blocking his way. "You're not leaving until you tell me where you're going," she said in a broken voice._

"_Diana I have to go," he pushed past her and went into the hallway down the grand staircase of Wayne Manor towards the large golden doorway._

"_Bruce please don't," she was going to have to resort to begging. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to face her. "Please," she said in a smaller voice. He looked straight into her eyes and said in a stressed voice_

"_Listen, Diana," he seemed to be searching for word. Before he knew what he was doing he had leaned forward and kissed her. He'd never kissed Diana or even thought about doing it but something just came over him. Diana didn't kiss back but went limp in Bruce's arms. The kiss lasted about a minute before he released her. They both stared at each other stunned. And then he turned and just walked out. Diana was too speechless to call after him. She just stood there and watched him go._

**Seven Years Later**

Diana sat at her desk going through some paperwork.

"Hey Diana," said a voice above her. Diana looked up to see her best friend Darcey sit down on the edge of her desk.

"What's up?" she said not looking up at Darcey from what she was reading.

"I was thinking, I have absolutely nothing to do tonight, so will you please come out with me." She hesitated before saying

"I don't know Darcey,"

"Please will you! I have no one to go with, don't you think it will look weird if I go alone, and didn't you just buy that new outfit you said you wanted to wear? Please!"

"Alright I'll go but I'm not staying long, I have a life you know it's not all fun and games anymore, I'm planning on leaving in a few months." The rule used to be that they'd go out every Saturday night but since Diana was getting more serious with her life, it wasn't happening as frequently. Darcey pretended to act all insulted

"I have a life too,"

"I'm sure you do Darcey," she said turning back to the paper she had been reading, Darcey just smirked and walked back into the showroom where the cars were kept.

"This'll be so fun, it'll be just like the old days,"

"Great," said Diana rolling her eyes, "I can't wait." They entered the club; Diana could hear the yelling and music before she even went inside the place. Lights of all different colors flashed, it was overcrowded and she was only able to follow Darcey by holding onto her hand. They reached the bar and ordered drinks. They leaned against the bar table drinking and talking.

* * *

Gotham City was different, very different. It was far more dangerous then befoe. He hated it, he had to do something, but right now he needed to let himself go a little bitand get a drink. He set out for a nearby nightclub he'd been to a few times, but not often. Bruce Wayne never hung out at nightclubs but tonight he needed to escape. Returning and facing everyone and going to Wayne Enterprises to discuss his job with the company had been a lot to take in. A man named William Earle had taken over. He had asked for a job in Applied Sciences and it was given to him. Lucius Fox, has showed him some of the equipment. He could use it for exploring the cave below the Manor and start putting together his plans. He pulled into the parking lot, he wasn't planning on staying long, he just wanted a drink, maybe chat to some of the female employees there and leave. His return to Gotham had been all over the news which meant sticking around long wasn't a good idea if he didn't want to be bombarded with people. He walked inside ignoring the people around him and walked up to the counter of the bar and asked for a beer. He leaned against the counter waiting for his drink, the lady flashing a smile at him said

"Bruce Wayne isn't it?" As much as he wanted to say no he said

"Ya," he opened the beer bottle and drank some of it. The lady batted her eyelashes at him and drew closer. He turned his head scanning the crowd absentmindedly as the young woman behind the counter began flirting with him. He was about to turn back to the woman and give in and take on his Playboy personality but then something caught his eye. A woman, who looked about his age maybe a little younger than him was dancing with a man who was up behind her. He knew this girl. He walked away from the counter towards her. But before he reached her, the song was over and both she and the man parted. She disappeared into the crowd. He followed her, trying to catch up with her. When she sat down by another woman who was blonde and began talking. He suddenly felt like he had been hit in the face with a ton of bricks. He knew who she was. He was in complete shock. It couldn't be her, it just couldn't. This woman didn't even act like Diana, he could never imagine his childhood friend being in a bar grinding up against some random guy. Diana might have been aggressive and a little unstable when she was a teenager, but not now? He listened into their conversation. He heard the blonde friend of hers say

"Will you please just go get me another drink?"

"I'm too tired you dragged me all the way here, get your own drink," she laughed, the blonde girl smiled and handed her ten dollars and smiled wider in a pleading way.

"Fine, I'll do it, but you owe me," She got up out of her seat and walked towards the counter. Bruce followed her again and then when he couldn't stand it much longer he grabbed her shoulder and said

"Excuse me-" The woman whipped around.

* * *

Diana was ready for a fight, she'd been felt up by men before at nightclubs and bars and she wasn't going to let it happen now. She almost punched the man in the face until she recognized him. She let her guard down, She tried to make out his facial features better in the flashing lights.

"Oh my god," she said backing away. "B-Bruce Wayne?" she was completely astonished.

"Jesus, Diana Atkins!" he said walking towards her with an uncontrollable smile on his face. "What happened to you?"

"Excuse me?" She said in an offended voice.

"No, no, I meant you look different, and I didn't expect to see you in a nightclub" he said catching himself. She laughed and said

"Ya well, things change Wayne. Where the hell have you been? I remember you left me standing on a doorstep wondering where the hell you were going and then they say you're dead. " she said in a sad voice.

"I just left for awhile, because I needed to figure some things out," he said.

"Awhile, you mean about seven years," she said.

"Listen do you want to-"

"Yes I do want to go back your place, let me just tell my friend, I'll meet you outside," she walked away leaving him stunned.

* * *

How was this happening? When did she get to Gotham? Why was she in this place? Bruce remembered meeting Diana on the ferris wheel when he had been the ten-years-old. From that point they had been inseperable. Leaving her behind was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. He hadn't stopped thinking about her while he was away. Sometimes remembering her was the only comfort he had in the disgusting Chinese jail cells he had ended up in. He headed out of the nightclub glad to escape the hot crowded atmosphere.

Diana walked back to Darcey, making sure to get her drink on the way back as an apology for leaving so quickly. This had to be a dream. What could have Bruce Wayne been doing for the past seven years? Where could he have been? She reached Darcey and handed the drink over, grabbed her coat and said

"I gotta go,"

"Wait where you going?"

"I just met an old friend, from years ago and I got to go see him,"

"You're leaving me?"

"It's Bruce Wayne, Darcey," Darcey looked up at her and said

"Oh," in an understanding whisper, Darcey already knew of Bruce's and Diana's history and nodded her head and said "Alright I'll see you tomorrow at work, tell me how it goes,"

"I will, bye Darcey," she pulled on her coat and left.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) I'll update when I get some comments so I know people like it.


	2. Chapter 2

Diana met up with Bruce in the parking lot. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw his car. It was a gray Lamborghini Murcielago. She'd seen the car in the showroom at work but she had never been inside one.

"Let's go," he said.

"Wow, you own a Lamborghini Murcileago?"

"Yes,"

"I work at a dealership that sells these!"

"Really? Where do you work?"

"It's right near the Wayne Tower actually." He opened the door for her and she climbed inside. He got into the seat next to her and saw her looking around the car.

"So, where have you been?" He started the car and instead of answering her, he said

"Hold on tight,"

"What do you mean hold-" But before she could finish her sentence Bruce abruptly backed out from his parking space and turned out onto the road. He picked up speed, driving wildly until they reached the mansion.

"Oh my god," said Diana. She was clinging to the seat. As they pulled up to Wayne Manor, Diana's memories came flooding back to her. She had been here countless times as a teenager. It looked the same as it had years ago. It was Victorian with four towers surronding the main building. On both sides, coming off of the main part, the building stretched on. Large floor to ceiling windows lined every wall. It was huge, the first time Diana had seen it she had been enchanted. Her eight-year-old mind thought it was a fairytale princess castle.

"Are you ok you look a little pale?"

"Bruce why'd you drive like that,"

"What do you mean; I always drive like that,"

"Well you shouldn't," she said releasing the seat and looking at him with critical eyes.

"I've never gotten pulled over, or hurt anyone."

"Well you might get pulled over someday in an important situation." He just rolled his eyes at her and she shoved him in the shoulder and said "Don't you roll your eyes at me." He did it again, and she punched him in the arm. He faked a hurt look and she said

"That's what you get," Bruce opened the door and got out. Diana got out with him and found herself in the Manor's garage.

To anyone else this wouldn't be considered a garage but something equal to the quality of maybe their dining room. The floors and walls were not a greasy dirty concrete but a hard white polished marble. There were several other expensive cars parked in the garage. They started walking to an elevator on the other end of the room. She followed him towards the elevator and they went up to the first floor.

They walked into a wide open family room and sat down on the leather couch. Diana looked around in amazement at the high ceiling and humongous fire place with a painting of Bruce's parents above it. She had almost forgotten how magnificient the house was.

* * *

"So when did you get to Gotham?" asked Bruce.

"Four years ago,"

"Why the hell would you come here?" he asked.

"For college, I'm planning on leaving in a few months. Gotham was the cheapest city to live in." She said. "I finished college two months ago, so once I find a place to move into somewhere else I'll be able to get a more solid job and start my life."

"What'd you major in?" he asked. He felt a twinge of guilt as he realized he had no idea what Diana had been doing with her life for the past seven years. He had no idea what her life plans were or where she was going. He'd dropped everything when he left.

"Forensic psychology," she said, "I want to be a criminal psycholgist," Bruce smiled and remembered she had always been interested in crime when she was a teenager.

"Well why are you leaving? Gotham's the perfect place, it's overridden with crime."

"I want to go somewhere where I'm not afriad to walk out of my house or apartment," said Diana. "Every city and town has it's bad areas but Gotham doesn't have one good part to it."

* * *

"So what went on after I left?"

"I missed you," she said, her face softening. "A lot, I got so sad."

"I'm sorry I had to leave," He looked away sadly. Not wanting her to ask where he'd gone again. "So how's your family been?"

"Good, my dad's still alive,"

"What about your mother?" he asked.

"She died two years ago," she said, "She was shot while chasing a criminal." Diana didn't like to think about hermother's death. It had been devastating and shocking. Diana's mother Shona had been a police officer. A man who had killed his wife had been on the run and her mother had been chasing him through the woods when he shot her. Her mother had been the inspiration for Diana to want a career in criminal justice.

"I'm so sorry Di," he said. Diana was surprised to here him call her by the old nickname he had for her. Nobody else had ever called her Di except for Bruce. "What about Zach?" Zach was Diana's cousin, and even though he was a few months younger than her, they had always been close. He was her only cousin and when they were teens he'd hang around with her and Bruce.

"He's actually getting married," she saw Bruce's eyes widen in surprise.

"To who?"

"Her name's Jasmine Sarver, he met her on a hunting trip he took last season." Bruce nodded and said

"So you don't live with anyone?"

"Nope, try to keep in mind Bruce that I don't do well with a lot of men." Bruce knew the truth in that, she never used to get along with any of the boys in high school. She had been an outcast and for the most part Bruce had been her only friend. "I'm assuming you're not with anyone, considering you've been away for so long."

"No, definitley not," said Bruce.

"Master Wayne?" Diana recognized that voice, it was Alfred. He had often kept an eye on them when they were younger. He became close friends with Diana's father and mother. Alfred had been like a second father to Diana, he was always able to reassure her in anything that went wrong in her life. Diana stood up off the couch smiling, looking at Alfred who had walked into the room. "Diana Atkins?" he said in confusion.

"Alfred!" She ran over to him and pulled him into a hug. She heard Bruce say teasingly

"Hey, how come I didn't get that welcome?" Alfred hugged her back and said

"I can't believe this, what are you doing here?"

"I moved here Alfred," she took a look at his face. Alfred had certainly aged. His hair was whiter, and his face was older looking, but he was still the Alfred she had known.

"When?"

"I came to Gotham four years ago for college,"

"So how did you two meet up again?"

"We were at a nightclub," said Diana.

"Come into the kitchen," said Alfred, "I made dinner."

"Thanks Alfred," said Diana. The three sat down at the table and Diana told Alfred the same she had told Bruce about what had happened after he left. They talked for a long time and when Diana saw that it was 11:00 she said

"I gotta go soon, I have to work tomorrow at 7:00. It's been amazing seeing both of you again." He smiled and said

"I'll drive you home." After saying goodbye to Alfred they went back down to the garage and got into the car. Diana put her address into the GPS and said

"Do you have anywhere to be tomorrow?"

"I have to go back to Wayne Tower and meet with the head of Applied Sciences, just to go over some stuff," he said. "Instead of taking over the company I'm just going to work in that department."

"But your father left it all to you?" she said.

"I know but William Earle, the man who's taken over has decided to go public with the company. It's to late to stop it." They pulled up out front of Diana's apartment building.

"You live here?" asked Bruce in surprise. Diana knew where she was living was not in the best of areas. It wasn't the Narrows but it was one of the worse off parts of the city.

"Ya, it's all I can afford, I'm saving up so I can get a nicer place where ever I end up moving and start a real job."

"I don't want to leave you here," he said.

"Don't worry I'm safe," she said, "I always carry pepper spray with me."

"Well at least let me walk you to your door," said Bruce. They got out and Diana unlocked the front door with her key card. They went up to the third floor where her apartment was.

"Welcome to my home," she said opening the door and turning on the lights. It was an average looking one bedroom apartment. It had a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. It wasn't gross or falling apart like she had expected, she knew the lower price was because of the area it was located in.

"It's nice," said Bruce, looking around. "But really, I'm not comfortable leaving you here."

"Seriously Bruce it's fine, I've lived here for a year now." He still looked apprehensive so Diana went up and pulled him into a hug.

"How about we meet tomorrow for lunch at noon?"

"Sounds good," said Bruce, "I know a small resturant we can go to where the paparazzi won't bother us." Diana smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"I missed you more then anything Bruce, I didn't forget about you all those years. I was distraught when I heard you had died, and I doubted it was true." She didn't want to push questioning him about where he had been and what he had been doing, not wanting to spoil the moment.

* * *

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and never wanted to let go. "You never left my mind either," he said. "It was so hard for me to leave you standing on that doorstep but I had to." He hoped she wouldn't ask him where he had gone, he couldn't tell her. Not yet. He also wondered if she remembered the kiss they had shared right before he had walked away. It had happened out of pure impulse. Bruce couldn't help pressing his lips to hers. It had been such an emotional moment for both of them. He found himself wishing that he could do the same now, look into her eyes and lean in for a kiss. He knew he couldn't. He couldn't let himself get to close to her now that his plans were coming into place. It would be to dangerous for her. She looked up at him with a bright smile and said

"I can't belive you're here, we still have a lot of catching up to do."

"We definitley do," he said.

"I'll see you tomorrow Bruce." He forced himself to let her go and go back out the door.

"Good night Diana," he said.

"Good night Bruce," she said, shutting the door.

* * *

Once Bruce had left Diana went into her room and threw her things down and pulled off her coat. She walked into her bathroom and turned on the shower. While she was waiting for it to heat up, she looked in the mirror at herself. She couldn't believe Bruce Wayne was back. He clearly didn't want to talk about where he had been for the past seven years. Maybe tomorrow she'd get the story out of him.

She thought back to the day that he had left. She remembered how he had kissed her before he left. She wouldn't ever forget it. It was passionate and long, it hadn't just been a quick peck on the lips. She wasn't sure where it had come from, the drama of the whole situation or true hidden feelings they had had for each other. The heat of the shower fogged up the mirror and she stepped in. The hot water calmed her down and made her tired. Once she was done, she got dressed and went straight to bed. She tried not to let the craziness of the day get to her and keep her awake but after an hour of tossing and turning, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Thanks again to everyone who read and please review :) Thank you kindleflame5 and highlander348 for giving me feedback!


	3. Chapter 3

Diana was waiting for her shift to be over. It was 11:55 and she'd been at the dealership since seven that morning. She impatiently drummed her fingers on her desk, looking out the window waiting to see Bruce's gorgeous Lamborghini pull up. When she saw him park she felt a rush of excitement. She quickly got up and punched out, smiling as she hurried out the door. She pulled open the door and sat down inside.

"That was fast," said Bruce, smiling at her.

"I like to get out of there as quickly as possible," she said. She was shocked to see him wearing jeans and a T-shirt. It seemed out of character for him. Even in his teenage years he had always dressed like the rich boy he was, in nice polo shirts and sweaters. They started driving, "And can you please drive like a normal person this time."

"For you I will," he said smirking. As they drove Diana noticed that they were leaving the city and heading out further into the suburbs ofGotham.

"So where are we going?" asked Diana.

"A little restaurant on the outskirts," he said. "It's the only place I can go without getting bombarded with paparazzi." They pulled up to a cute small brick building that was called Tony's Italian Restaurant. It was one of the many millions of restaurants that went by the same name but it looked nice.

"Nobody would ever expect me to come here so we're safe. But trust me; they have some good food here." They walked inside and instead of being seated by a host they sat down at a table themselves. A waitress came over a minute later and handed them menus. Diana watched the waitress walk back into the kitchen and said

"Wow I'm shocked, she didn't even recognize you," said Diana.

"If I dress down and don't make myself obvious a lot of people wouldn't." he said.

She watched him open up the menu and look to see what he wanted. He obviously looked much older. All of the boyish features he'd had before were gone. He had lost all of the roundness and softness of his face. He looked much more mature.

"You already know what you're getting?" asked Bruce, seeing that she hadn't opened the menu. She had a small smile on her face and said

"Of course I do same as it used to be." Bruce's face was blank for a few second before he realized what she was talking about.

"Let me guess," he said. "You're getting spaghetti." Back as teenagers, whenever they went out somewhere to eat Diana always ordered spaghetti, it was her favorite food.

"Good job remembering," she said smiling. The waitress came and took their orders and Diana said "What else do you remember?"

"I remember everything Di, trust me. I didn't forget about all the stuff we did."

"Ya well after not seeing you for seven years it's like you're a stranger, especially after hearing that you died," she said. She figured she'd just jump right into it and directly ask him the question that had been burning in her mind.

"Where were you Bruce? Seriously, where did you go? One day you were there and the next you left me standing on a doorstep, scared and clueless to where you were going." He instantly looked uncomfortable with the question.

"I was just away for awhile," he said.

"Bruce I think I deserve an answer," she said in a serious tone.

"I went away to get a better understanding of myself," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Diana.

"I needed to get away and see the world," he said. "I wanted to get out of the lifestyle I was living and see things for how they really are."

* * *

He was telling her the truth. He did leave to see the world but he was going to keep out the fact he went to a Chinese prison and almost became part of the League of Shadows.

"But why didn't you just tell me?" she asked.

"It was a tough time for me Di," he said carefully. "It was a last second decision and I really had no idea where I was going."

"Then why didn't you contact me after you left and got your thoughts straight?" she asked in a hurt voice.

"I just couldn't Diana. It was too hard for me. I couldn't talk to you and know that you were waiting back home for me, I couldn't be tempted to leave. I had to stay inEurope. I was sick of living such a luxurious life, I needed to get away." In reality Bruce had only been in Asia.

"But you could of called me, just to let me know that you were ok and still alive," she said with tears welling up in her eyes. He couldn't think of anything else to say to her

"I'm sorry," He looked sincerely into her eyes.

"It's ok," she said with a small smile. "I just want to pick up where we left off seven years ago." For a moment Bruce thought she was referring to their kiss until she said "As best friends." He smiled back at her as she sniffled once and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Another person I haven't seen in a long time is Rachel," said Diana. "After you left we just got more distant, I haven't talked to her in almost three years."

"I haven't had a chance to see her yet either," said Bruce. "But I've heard she's the Assistant District Attorney."

"She is," said Diana. Whenever Diana would come down to visit him Rachel would always play with them and they became good friends, but Bruce always knew the only thing keeping the two girls tied together was his relationship to both of them. It was no surprise that they had quickly drifted apart after he left.

"I knew she would get far," said Bruce. The waitress brought their food to the table and the two ate and talked more about what they had been doing. Diana kept trying to get more detailed answers from him about his where he'd been. Bruce came up with a lie about traveling through Austria and intoSlovenia. Diana seemed to believe it.

An hour later they had finished eating and were still talking. It was late and thee was no one left in the restaurant. One of the employees was sweeping up and getting ready to close for the night.

"I think we better go," said Diana. They went back out to the Lamborghini and drove back towards the city.

When they pulled up to her apartment Diana got out and said

"I'm working most of tomorrow but I'll try and come see you at the end of the day," said Diana. They said goodnight to each other and Bruce watched her walk up the steps until she went inside. He had to create a better story to tell her. If he was going to go through with his plans he needed to make up a believable lie that wouldn't have her suspicious.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please review! This one was kind of short but I promise I'll post a long one next :)


	4. Chapter 4

Diana didn't buy his story, she'd gone along with it but she could tell he was lying. When she got home she immediately went on her laptop. She wanted to see what everyone else was saying about Bruce. She googled his name and strangely felt like she was going behind his back. The first few things on the page were old articles about Bruce's parent's deaths. She finally found what she was looking for when she saw a recent article about Bruce's return. She scanned the first paragraph which only talked about his parents and the company and then went onto the second. It read:

"_After having been declared dead for seven years, Bruce Wayne has returned. It's been quite a shock to the city. William Earle the man who has been the CEO of Wayne Enterprises since Thomas Wayne's death has announced that he will keep his position while Mr. Wayne will take on a job in the company's Applied Sciences Department. A lot is still unknown about where he has been. When questioned, Mr. Wayne said "I left seven years ago to travel and see the world for myself." He still has not said why he chose to be away for so long or why he never bothered to contact anyone after he left."_

He had clearly told the press a different story. Bruce was up to something and she was determined to find out what it was.

* * *

Bruce lay in his bed, his mind was spinning. He had spent the rest of the night putting together the final touches on his 'Batsuit' with Alfred. Everything was assembled and his ideas were coming together. What was he going to do about her? If she even caught onto what he was doing she could be putting herself in danger. As he slowly drifted in and out of sleep he thought about the day he had first met her.

_Ten-year-old Bruce stared up at the huge Ferris wheel slowly turning above him. He had told Alfred that he was going off to meet some friends but that was a lie. He didn't have a lot of friends and didn't feel motivated to make any so he usually just hung around with Alfred. Bruce knew it made him happy. He would have invited Rachel but she has gone away with her mother to visit family. Every year Gotham held an annual fair on the outskirts of the city. Bruce's parents took him every year and he didn't want to stop going, it made him think about how good life was before their deaths. When he reached the front of the line the man working the ride turned to him._

"_Are you with anyone?" He shoke his head no and the man turned to a little girl standing off to the side and said "You can go on with him." The little girl was pushed up into one of the gondolas along with him and the door was pushed shut. The two stared at each other for a minute. Bruce felt awkward. The girl looked to be slightly younger then him. She had dark brown curly hair, olive skin, and deep brown eyes. She had a smile on her face and she said_

"_Hi I'm Diana, who are you?"_

"_I'm Bruce," he said._

"_How old are you Bruce?" she asked._

"_Ten," he said._

"_I'm eight!" she said excitedly. "Have you ever been on a ferris wheel before? I have, back where I live that comes to our county fair and I ride it every year. But this is the first time I've been to the city. Do you live here?" Bruce was surprised by her openness and said_

"_I do live here, and I have been on a ferris wheel before."_

"_I don't think I'd like to live here," said Diana. "It's really crowded and there are no animals around."_

"_Well I don't live in the city area I live further out," he said. "How come you've never been to the city?"_

"_I live way far up in a Maine," said Diana, "The town is really far away from the cities. My parents decided to come here on a vacation to show me what it's like. They said that Gotham is the center city of America and I should see it." The two continued to talk and before they knew it the ride was over. Diana hopped out first and said_

"_You should come meet my parents!" She took him by the hand and dragged him through the crowd of people. They approached a man and a woman sitting on a bench. "Mom, dad this is Bruce my new friend!" said Diana. The woman smiled at him and said_

"_Hello Bruce, I'm Shona, Diana's mom," Bruce smiled back and said_

"_Nice to meet you,"_

"_How did you two meet?" asked Diana's father._

"_On the ferris wheel!" said Diana. _

"_Where do you wanna go next?" asked Shona. _

"_The roller coaster!" said Diana, "Bruce do you wanna come with me?" He figured he'd have more fun hanging out with her rather then being alone. For an eight year old girl she didn't seem so bad. After all he and Rachel had been best friends forever and she was also only eight._

"_Sure," he said happily. He followed after Diana and her parents. Maybe the day wouldn't turn out so bad after all._

* * *

Diana got up at 7:00 A.M. as usual. She was definitely a morning person. Every other day she went to the gym in the mornings to do a boxing and kickboxing class for an hour and a half, come back home fast to shower and change, and then she went off to work. She had started boxing when she first came to Gotham. She figured she needed some sort of self defense training and it made her feel healthy. Her trainer Mark was waiting for her in the ring when she got there.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning," he said, "How's everything been?"

"Pretty good," she said. "I just wish I didn't have work later." Mark laughed and said

"Don't we all?"

"You must love this job," she said.

"Someday I get sick of it, it can get very repetitive." As usual they started out with basic warm-ups and then started doing different drills and techniques. With each kick and punch she felt more and more powerful. She felt alive as she leapt up and kept hitting the pads Mark was holding in front of her. The hour and a half seemed to go by extremely fast as she got more lost into what she was doing. When the timer on the wall rang Diana felt slightly disappointed that she had to leave and go to work. As she was getting her things together Mark came over to her.

"Have you ever considered actually fighting with someone in a competition?" he asked.

"No," said Diana. "Not that I don't like boxing as much as possible but I've always felt like women's professional boxing comes off as…." She searched for the words in her mind. "For lesbians." Mark laughed and said

"I know that's how people see it but just think about it," he said.

"Alright," she said. As much as she loved the combat piece of boxing she didn't think she'd like being in front of tons of people. She'd feel like she was putting on a show. She headed outside to her car. It would be another boring long day at work and after she'd get a chance to go over and see Bruce.

* * *

Thanks everyone for reading :) Please review!

I went and saw The Dark Knight Rises this past weekend and absolutely loved it! It was probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. It also gave me a lot of inspiration and ideas :)


	5. Chapter 5

Diana sat at her desk flipping through some of the paperwork she had to get done. It was a slow day and she as finding it hard to keep herself awake.

"So how'd it go?" Diana looked up to see Darcey walk in. Feeling slow and sleepy she said

"What?"

"How'd it go with Wayne?" asked Darcey.

"Oh," she said, "It went well, we just caught up."

"What did he say?" she asked excitedly. "Where has he really been all these years?" Diana decided not to get her more excited and said

"Exactly what he told the press, he just wanted to travel and see the world."

"But there has to be more to it then that?" said Darcey. Diana shrugged and said

"If there is he didn't tell me," Diana heard someone walk into the office. She looked up to see her boss Jeremy.

"Darcey we need you on the floor, there's a customer waiting for you," he said.

"I'll see you later Diana," she said leaving. Darcey was one of the salesgirls who worked out in the showroom, greeting customers and talking to them about the different cars they were interested in. Diana could see the showroom through the glass wall of her office. The showroom door opened and Diana was surprised to see Bruce walk in. He approached Darcey who looked like she was in complete shock. He had a smirk on his face as he said something to her. He pointed out a few cars around the room and then handed her a check. Leaving Darcey speechless, he walked over to her office and came in.

"What are you doing here?" asked Diana.

"I came to buy a few new cars," he said, still smirking.

"Don't you have enough already?" she asked.

"Not nearly," he said.

"You just like throwing your money around,"

"I also wanted an excuse to come see you," he said. "You're still coming tonight right?"

"Ya," she said, "I get out at 6:30," She pulled out all of the forms from her desk that Bruce had to sign. "Look these over," she said. Without reading them he signed his name.

"You're in a wise ass mood this morning," said Diana. He handed her back the papers, "You're not even gonna scan through it?"

"I don't need to I'm Bruce Wayne," he said. She rolled her eyes and her boss came back in

"Mr. Wayne, I'd like to make delivery arrangements considering you've bought five cars."

"I'll see you later Di," he followed Jeremy back out into the showroom, leaving Diana to her work.

* * *

After Bruce left things got painfully boring again. As soon as it was 6:30 she left for Bruce's.

She parked out front and knocked on the door. As she expected Alfred answered.

"Diana," he said smiling, "Bruce said you would be coming." She walked in and said

"Where is he?"

"He's just upstairs; I'll go let him know you're here."

"Thank Alfred," she said. She watched him go up the staircase and then went into the huge family room. The fireplace was lit, giving the room a cozy feeling despite how big it was. She walked over to a long wooden table and looked at all the picture frames on it. The first was of Bruce's parents, Martha and Thomas Wayne. They were standing and smiling together with the Eiffel tower behind them. Diana had never met Bruce's parents; they had died two years before she'd met him. He used to tell her stories about all the things he'd done with them in his childhood. The next picture was of her and Rachel as teenagers. It was taken when they had gone hiking up Big Spencer Mountain near her hometown Greenville.

"How was the rest of your day?" Diana turned around to see Bruce in the doorway. She smiled and said

"Boring, did you get those cars delivered?"

"I did," he said. She walked over to him and said

"So what did you do for the rest of the day?"

"Went over to Wayne Enterprises for a bit and then came back and worked out."

"Oh right I almost forgot this place has a gym," she said.

"I added onto it," he said "Wanna see it?" she followed him down a long hallway, feeling lost. It had been a long time since she had walked around the Wayne Manor. It was hard to remember where everything was. At the end of the hallway Bruce opened a glass door and Diana walked into the familiar gym. There was several different exercise machines scattered around the room. What caught her eyes were several pairs of boxing glove lying in the corner of the room.

"This place is a lot better then the gym I go to every morning," she said.

"You go to the gym?" asked Bruce surprised.

"Ya, I'm not the couch potato I used to be," she said laughing.

"What do you do there, just run on the treadmill?" he asked.

"No," she said, "I box."

"What?" he said, sounding shocked.

"I'm a boxer, like with the gloves and everything," she said laughing.

"Really?" he said, still in shock.

"Ya I started doing it when I moved here. I figured I needed some sort of defense training. I ended up really liking it and I decided to continue with it."

"You do boxing? Come on now," he said smirking.

"You don't believe me," she said.

"I don't know," he said. "I can't see you boxing. When we were teenagers you never did any sports."

"Ya well people change," she said. "I've become stronger and you've become a pretentious wise ass."

"I bet you just go and use the treadmill for twenty minutes," he said.

"I do not," she said, "I'm in the ring for an hour and a half with my trainer. He actually wanted me to start competing."

"Prove to me that you actually box," he said.

"Alright," she said. She went over to the pile of gloves on the floor and tossed him a pair before putting on her own. They went over to a spot that was clear of any machines.

"I'm not gonna hit you," he said.

"That's no fun," said Diana.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said.

"Trust me you won't," she said, "If it makes you feel better we can put on headgear." He hesitated for a minute before going over to one of the bins in pulling out a caged helmet. "Are you putting one on?"

"I don't need it," he said. They faced each other and got into her stance. Bruce stood in front of her, his gloves up. She aimed for his face but he darted out of the way and managed to get her on the side of her head. She regained her stance and threw several punches at him. He blocked her but wasn't prepared for her high kick. She got him in the jaw. He backed away surprised that she'd actually hit him.

"Want to put on your helmet now?" she said. He didn't answer and she charged at him. She got him right in the face. As he lunged forward to punch her she quickly darted out of the way and then hooked her foot around his ankle, tripping him. He fell face first onto the ground. He sat up in complete shock.

"I told you I was good," she said. She took off her gloves. "I hope I didn't really hurt you."

* * *

Bruce couldn't believe he'd been beaten. After all the training he'd been doing he'd lost to a girl who was at least six inches shorter then him. He was at a complete loss for words. She offered him her hand and he took it, standing up off the ground.

"My trainer Mark wants me to start competing but I don't think I will," she said. "I feel like it would all be a show. I'd rather just continue my training with him and get even better. Maybe I could try some other types of martial arts." Alfred walked into the gym and said

"I was looking for you two, dinner's ready." Diana smiled and said

"Thanks so much Alfred I'm starving!" She hurried to the door, leaving him standing in the room, still in complete shock. She turned back and said

"Are you coming Bruce?" He finally managed to find his voice and said

"Ya," He shut off the lights and followed her out.

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone :) I hope you liked it please review! Thanks to everyone currently subscribing and highlander348, Ravenmore45, kindleflame5, and Goddess of Roses for commenting!


	6. Chapter 6

As they ate dinner Bruce's mind was on other things. He needed to get Falcone and bring him to justice. Gordon had told him how corrupt some of the cops and city officials were. He needed to go out and handle things himself. The ride home to Diana's house was silent.

"What's wrong are you still completely in awe that I beat you?" said Diana playfully.

"No," he said with a small smile. "I just don't like leaving you here by yourself in this part of Gotham." It was true. The first thing on his mind was what he would be doing later tonight for the first time in his suit but he had an underlying worry about dropping her off at her apartment in a bad area.

"I've lived here for a year now and nothing bad has happened. I'll be fine." He pulled up to the sidewalk to let her out. After saying goodnight he waited until she was inside the building before driving away. It was time to go see what was going on in the city tonight.

* * *

Diana had just walked into her apartment when her cell phone started ringing. Hurrying to answer it she threw her things down on the kitchen counter and saw Darcey was calling her.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey Diana are you busy?"

"I just got in," said Diana, "I want over to Bruce's for dinner."

"Ooooo," said Darcey, "Tell me all the details!"

"It wasn't a date if that's what you're wondering," she said, pulling off her coat. "We just haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come out tonight." Diana glanced at the clock to see it was still only 8:00.

"I don't know," she said, "It's been a really long day."

"But tomorrow we're going in at 10, so you get to sleep in." Diana hesitated before saying

"Sure I guess I'll come, where are we going?"

"That new club that just opened down on Olson St.."

"Alright I'll meet you there?"

"Ya out front at 8:30."

Diana spotted Darcey out front when she pulled up out front.

"This place is packed!" said Darcey excitedly.

"It is new," said Diana. When they walked inside Diana saw that Darcey hadn't been lying. People were literally right up against each other dancing. It was so thickly crowded that there was no opening to push through people and get to the bar. Diana suddenly wished she hadn't come and that she was home cozy on the couch watching TV. They managed to make their way around the crowd to the bar. Both of them got Cosmos and were surprised to find a place to sit.

"So what's the deal with Wayne?" asked Darcey. "Is he as much of snobby rich guy as he seems?"

"No he's really nice," said Diana.

"He has an overblown ego," said Darcey, "Anyone can see that."

"Well I took him down a few earlier today," said Diana. "I beat him in a boxing match." Darcey laughed and said

"He's so ridiculous, you should of seen Jeremy's face today when he came asking for five cars." The girls set their drinks down and got out onto the dance floor.

* * *

Bruce crouched on top of one of the pillars inside the train station, looking down on Rachel as she came down the stairs. It was the first time he'd seen her in seven years but he didn't have time to try and get a better look at her. Falcone had sent some of his thugs to kill her. He saw the two men closing in on her and jumped down. He grabbed onto the man that had walked up behind her and mauled him, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Rachel turned around and jumped in surprise when she saw him sitting on the railing. She tased him but with his suit, it had no affect on him and he pulled it off. He finally got a good look at her. She had the same pretty face she did as a teenager. Not much about her had changed.

"Falcone sent them to kill you," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"You rattled his cage," He threw down the pictures of Judge Faden with his mistress. Rachel stared at them for moment, taking it in before saying

"What's this?"

"Leverage," he said.

"For what?" she asked.

"To get things moving," he said.

"Who are you?"

"Someone like you," he said, "Someone who rattled the cages." As she leaned down to pick up the pictures Bruce quickly leapt down from the railing.

* * *

Diana stopped regretting that she had gone out. After spending a few minutes on the dance floor she was having a blast. She didn't care if everyone around her was a stranger besides Darcey. They were all here for the same purpose, to go for a night out and have fun. She finally broke away from the crowd and went back over to the table and quickly downed the rest of her drink as she tried to catch her breath. She sat down for a minute before she was pulled back onto the dance floor by Darcey. As she continued to dance things were starting to get blurry around her. The music was the only thing she could clearly focus on. She wasn't sure exactly how her body was moving. The colors of the strobe lights above her seemed to blend together. Soon the music even started to sound strange to her, muffled and slower. Someone took her hand and started pulling her towards the entrance. Not completely realizing what was going on she looked around the room, everything blurring together. The cold night air wasn't enough to bring her back to her senses. She couldn't make out who the person holding her hand was. She was completely spacing out. She was led down into an alleyway and another person walked out of the shadows. The person holding her hand spoke and she realized it was a man.

"I got one," She heard the other man laugh and say

"Was she with anyone?"

"I don't know it's hard to tell, it was really crowded. No one seemed to notice her leave with me. It was easy; I just slipped it in her drink." Their words didn't register in Diana's mind. It wasn't until she was pushed against a brick wall and she felt one of them moving their hands up her thigh that she realized she was in danger. She tried to struggle against them but her muscles felt too limp and relaxed. She could feel a scream welling up in her throat but was having a hard time getting it out. After struggling with herself she managed to let out a loud scream. It was cut off when one of the men hit her across the face. She felt dizzy and tried to stand up straight but her feet gave out from underneath her. She let out another scream hoping someone would hear her.

* * *

Bruce was heading back to the Wayne Manor. He'd accomplished what he needed to for tonight. He had found Falcone and left him tied to a searchlight for the city to see. He glided from one building to the next. A loud scream caught his attention. It was coming from an alleyway a building over. He went over and saw a woman being pushed against a wall by two men. He leapt down and grabbed both men, pulling them off the woman. He threw one into a pile of trash cans while he fought off the first. Both men got up off the ground and ran out of the alley. He went over to the woman was shocked when he saw Diana slumped on the ground, looking up at him with wide drugged up eyes. What the hell was she doing here? He picked her up off the ground and he felt her struggle against him. He pulled her close and said

"It's ok; I'm here to help you." She relaxed against him and let him pick her up. Bruce realized that the building next to them was a club and it was clear that that's where Diana had been before she had been dragged out by the two men. He had to get her to the hospital.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please comment! Thank you highlander348, kindleflame5, Ravenmore45, shippolover844, and Goddess of Roses for reviewing!

Thought I'd put some pictures up of the characters, if you'd like to see them I have the links posted on my profile :)


	7. Chapter 7

Diana woke up in an instant. Her eyes flashed open and she looked around. She was clearly in a hospital room. She sat up and a nurse walked in. The woman looked surprised to see her sitting up.

"Oh, Ms. Atkins you're awake!"

"What happened?" asked Diana. She couldn't remember anything about last night.

"You were almost raped," she said. "The Batman saved you and brought you here."

"Bat who?" she asked, feeling groggy.

"You have some friends downstairs waiting for you," She left the room again, leaving Diana confused. A moment later Darcey ran through the door and jumped onto her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry!" she said in an upset voice.

"What's going on?" asked Diana. She saw Bruce walk in holding a huge bouquet of flowers. "I wasn't paying attention, I didn't see you leave!" said Darcey. "I looked everywhere for you!" Diana looked at the clock hanging above the door and realized it was 12:00.

"Shit!" she said, "I have to get to work!" Darcey laughed and said

"Don't worry, Jeremy knows you're here, that's how I found out." Darcey let go of her and Bruce stepped forward. He handed her the flowers and still deeply confused Diana said

"What happened last night Bruce?"

"Someone slipped a drug into your drink and took you out of the club." He seemed deeply upset. "Two men tried to rape you."

"Who got me out of it?" she asked.

"Batman," he said.

"Who's Batman?" she asked.

"He's the vigilante that also took down Falcone last night." Diana felt angry. She knew there was no way she could have defended herself last night but she was frustrated that she had been taken advantage of. "You look pissed," said Bruce.

"I am," she said, "I couldn't have defended myself."

"That wasn't your fault," he said, "You weren't able to, you were drugged." Diana knew there was no argument but still felt angry.

"So who is this Batman?" she asked. Before Bruce could speak Darcey jumped in excitedly.

"He's a crime fighter who dresses like a bat! Last night he took down Falcone and left him tied to a searchlight." Diana laughed and said

"A man who dresses like a bat?"

"Ya," said Darcey.

"There's a lot of things more intimidating then that he could have dressed up as."

"Like what?" asked Bruce. Diana thought he heard defensiveness in his tone.

"You seem to forget that I grew up in the wilderness Bruce, trust me there are a lot more scarier creatures out there then a bat."

"He's all over the news," said Darcey. "You should turn on your TV and hear the reports." She glanced at the clock and saw that it was now 12:30. "I gotta go Diana, I told Jeremy I'd only be gone for an hour. I'll come see you later." She gave her one last hug and then left. Bruce sat down on the edge of Diana's bed.

"I was terrified when I heard you were in the hospital," he said.

"Well I feel fine now," she said. "I don't remember anything from last night. The last thing I can recall was taking a quick break before going back out onto the dance floor with Darcey."

"I'm just happy you're ok and those scumbags didn't get their hands on you." Diana felt rage burn deep inside her again. If she had been fully aware of what was going on she would have beat both of those men to bloody pulps. She clenched her fists and said

"I wish I could of done something rather then be rescued."

"Like what?" asked Bruce.

"Beat the crap out of both of them. I would have shown them that they had messed with the wrong woman."

* * *

Bruce stayed with her until she was released at around 5:00 that afternoon. He drove her home and stayed with her for an hour before leaving. He had decided to take Alfred's advice seriously and do the things that anyone would expect the average pompous billionaire would do. He dressed up and to his reluctance, invited two European models to come out with him to dinner. He knew he was making himself look like a complete douchebag when he got out of his Lamborghini with the two of them hanging on his arms. He couldn't help measuring them up to Diana; neither of them met her standards.

* * *

Diana got home and took a long bath before curling up on the couch and turning on the TV. She went to the news channel and saw that Darcey had been right. Across the screen it read "Bat Vigilante brings Falcone to Justice" Two reporters were discussing what had gone on last night. Diana tried hard to remember anything from last night. She couldn't recall anything about a man in a Bat costume. She changed the channel and another news report came up on the screen. It caught her attention when she read "Bruce Wayne's Night out." She listened to what the reporter was saying.

"Bruce Wayne has been spotted tonight dining at Gotham's finest hotel, Le Supérieur, with two lovely ladies. He reportedly bought the hotel after his two friends decided to take a dip in one of the hotel's fountains. What will be next for Mr. Wayne? Another disappearing act? Or will he buy out every hotel in Gotham City?"

Diana was shocked as a video of an extremely smug looking Bruce came on the screen. He had his arms around the waists of two women as he waked into the hotel. What was he doing? He had left her only a few hours ago still seeming distraught over what had happened to her and now he was out riding around with two models? She couldn't help feeling jealous and upset. He was making himself look like a complete asshole to the media, and why hadn't he asked her if she wanted to go out? Even if she had just gotten home from the hospital he didn't have to have two brain dead models hanging on him as dates. She shut off the TV in disgust and lay down. She'd call Bruce tomorrow and ask him what the hell he was thinking. She let herself doze off, completely exhausted from the rough day.

* * *

Bruce walked out of the restaurant with the two models ahead of him. As he was about to get in his car he heard someone say his name.

"Bruce?" He turned around to see Rachel standing there. Finally they were meeting face to face, last night didn't count.

"Rachel," he said, walking up to her.

"I heard you were back," she said smiling. "What are you doing?" He felt embarrassed. He was soaking wet and she had caught him at the completely wrong time.

"I uh was swimming," he said. Quickly changing the subject he said "Wow it's good to see you."

"You were gone a long time," she said.

"How are things?" he asked.

"The same," she said. He smiled stupidly, feeling like an idiot.

"The job's getting worse," she said.

"Can't change the world on your own," he said.

"What choice do I have, and you're to busy swimming." He knew he was coming off in the wrong way. He could only imagine what Diana would be thinking if she saw him like this. He had always been just friends with Rachel; there had never been feelings between them that went beyond that.

"Rachel all this, it's not me. Inside I am more." He heard one of the models call to him from his car and Rachel shook her head at him.

"Bruce deep you may still be that same great kid you used to be, but it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you."

* * *

Diana woke up out of a dead sleep. She was still lying on the couch and the bright numbers coming from her TV box clock said it was 2:30 A.M. She suddenly got the feeling that she wasn't alone. She almost screamed when she saw a dark figure standing outside her window on the ledge. Frozen with fear, she watched as the window opened and the figure stepped inside. A deep voice spoke out

"I'm not here to hurt you." The figure stepped into the moonlight streaming through her window and she was shocked to see a man in a bat suit.

"You're him," she said, "You're the Batman." He didn't answer her but nodded. "You saved me last night."

"I did," he said.

"Thank you," she said, "But why are you here?"

"I thought I'd check in on you to see how you were doing," he said. His voice was deep and rough, she'd never heard anything like it. A gust of cold air coming through the open window woke her up and made her realize that she wasn't dreaming. She suddenly was very aware he was watching her and all she was wearing was a white tank top and a pair of boy shorts underwear. She pulled the blanket off the floor and back over her body.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"That's not important," he said, "All that matters is what I do, not who I am." She wanted to reach out and touch him to make sure he was really there but she didn't have the energy to sit up off the couch. "What are you doing living in a neighborhood like this?" he asked.

"All I could afford," she said, feeling sleepy. Her eyes slowly started shutting again and she asked

"I'm ok, aren't gonna you leave?" He came closer, standing over her.

"In a place like this, you need someone to watch over you." She didn't answer and slipped back into a light slumber. Bruce stayed there for another half an hour, watching her sleep before leaving, locking the window on his way out.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please comment! Thanks to everyone subscribing and reviewing, it means a lot to me! :)


	8. Chapter 8

Diana woke up the next morning to the sound of the alarm on her phone. She was confused as to why she was on the couch. Her memory of last night came rushing back to her. Had it been a dream? She sat up and was unsure of what to do. She had to be at the gym in a half hour. She slowly got up and started getting her things together. Had the Batman really come to visit her last night?

* * *

She walked into the gym and got ready for her session with Mark. From the moment she stepped into the ring she wasn't focused on what she was doing. Her mind was still on what had happened last night. Whoever Batman was he had to be an expert in martial arts. She liked the idea of an average person going out and fighting for justice. It was no secret that the whole city's system was corrupt. The more she thought about it the more it started to sound like a good idea. She was so lost in her own thoughts she went to kick the pad Mark was holding up and missed. She fell abruptly forward, catching herself and getting her footing back.

"You're not completely focused today, I can tell," said Mark.

"Sorry," she said, "I've just got some personal things on my mind." They ended practice early and he approached her again.

"So have you been thinking about my offer on professional fighting?"

"Ya I just think that it's all a big show," she said, "Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of combat but I just feel like I'd be putting on a show."

"Alright well maybe I'll have some of my other students come in for a bit so you can try sparring. Would you like that?"

"I would," she said smiling, "Thanks Mark I'll see you." She left and went home to shower before heading to work.

* * *

Bruce woke up late again. It was 2:00 when Alfred came in and opened the shades, letting in a bright stream of sunlight. He pulled the covers over his face. He heard Alfred set down the tray with his breakfast on the nightstand. Bruce rolled out of bed and got right to his push ups. He remembered seeing Diana last night. He had to go check on her, and ended up staying there for a bit. He had watched her sleep and then left. He'd go see her again tonight.

"I suspect you didn't get in until late last night," said Alfred.

"Around 3:30," said Bruce.

"Did you find anything more?" asked Alfred.

"Actually no," said Bruce, "I stopped in to see Diana."

"You're taking a risk," said Alfred. "Diana knows you extremely well; perhaps it would be wise to not visit her as Batman. Eventually she may recognize who you are."

"I doubt it," said Bruce. "Besides it's not like I'm seeing her in daylight."

* * *

Diana sat at her desk bored out of her mind. She was done with her paperwork and there wasn't anybody looking at cars in the showroom. She closed her eyes and tried to remember as much as she could about Batman. There was no way of telling what his face looked like. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to go out every night and be a hero. She thought of the two men who had tried to take advantage of her and felt angry. If she was Batman she'd make sure people like them would never walk free again. Darcey walked in and said

"How are you feeling?"

"Great," said Diana, "Just angry still."

"Well it's nice to know that the city is being watched over. Now maybe I'll feel a little bit safer walking around after dark," said Darcey.

"It's inspiring," said Diana, more to herself then to her friend.

"What do you mean?"

"It makes me want to go out and do something. I mean Batman is a normal human being and he's out there fighting for other peoples lives."

"I suppose," said Darcey, "Whoever he is, he must have had a lot of training in fighting. I could never go out and do what he does." A customer walked into the showroom and Darcey got up and went out before Jeremy noticed she was gone.

"But I could," said Diana to herself.

* * *

That night Bruce was expecting Diana to come over but when it got past 8:00 he decided to call her. She answered the phone and said

"Hello,"

"Hey Di," he said.

"Oh hi," she said, "I saw you on the TV last night." He suddenly felt embarrassed and said

"Oh ya,"

"I thought you told me that you weren't involved with anyone, never mind two supermodels."

"I'm not," he said.

"It doesn't seem that way," she said.

"Trust me Di, it was just an appearance," he said.

"What do you mean 'an appearance'?" Bruce couldn't fully explain his reason for wanting to look like a playboy without revealing that he was the Batman.

"It was something to keep the paparazzi talking," said Bruce, "If I don't do something like that once in awhile people will start to say worse things about me."

"Sure," she said, "Like what?"

"That I'm a hermit who stays locked up in his mansion." he said laughing.

"Ya ok," she said, "Planning on making any other appearances tonight or buying anymore hotels?"

"No," he said, "I actually have some stuff to get done around the house. What about you?" he asked.

"I'm tired," said Diana, "I think I just might go right to bed."

* * *

That night Diana waited for Batman. Scared he wouldn't come if the lights were on; she turned everything off and sat on the couch waiting. Sure enough she heard the window unlocking and Batman climbed through. He saw her sitting on the couch and said

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you," she said, "I figured you would come." She stood up and walked over to him. He was intimidating and she hesitated before reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder. He definitely wasn't a dream; she could feel his hard cold suit. He backed away a little. It was clear to her that he didn't want her too close. "What's it like?" she asked. He didn't answer but stared down at her with his dark eyes. "What's it like to fight for the protection of the whole city?"

"It's my job," he said, "It's what I do."

"Who are you?" she asked, "Are you normal like the rest of us?"

"I'm someone who opened their eyes and saw how corrupt this city is. I decided to take a stand and fight."

"What do you use in combat? Show me."

* * *

Bruce felt nervous as she came closer to him with a star struck look across her face. He thought of what Alfred had said. What if she did recognize him? He couldn't have her come any closer. He released a sleeping gas into the air, directing it at her. Her eyes slowly shut and she started falling to one side. He caught her and picked her gently up into his arms. He brought her into her bedroom and lay her down onto the bed, pulling the covers over her.

* * *

_Diana knew she was dreaming. She was standing high above the city. She realized she was on top of an unbelievably tall skyscraper. She looked down at the city below her. Everything looked so small. The lights of the cars driving down the streets looked like ants. It was nighttime and everything was lit up. It was absolutely beautiful. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to see Batman standing there. He was looking at her with a blank face. Diana looked down at herself to see that she was no longer wearing a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. She had on a tight black spandex suit, similar looking to Batman's. She felt powerful and strong. With a leap, Batman jumped over the side of the building, spreading his cape out into wings. Diana quickly followed jumping after him._

She woke up at that moment, her loud alarm clock sounding. She looked around her room to see that it was morning and she was alone. Again she was left with surreal memories of the night before and the growing desire to become a part of what Batman was doing.

* * *

Thanks to everyone reviewing and subscribing to this story :) Please let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

That next day at work Diana felt determined, and also a little crazy. She had enrolled herself in several different other martial arts classes and was doodling at her desk. She wanted to do what Batman did. The more she thought about it the more serious she became about it and the more she started questioning her sanity. If Batman could wear a costume she could to. She was trying to draw something up that she thought would look good. A simple black latex suit and mask seemed appropriate rather then designing a suit to look like something specific. It's not like she had tons of money to go out and spend and couldn't be heavily armored like Batman. She snapped out of her fantasy when she heard her boss come into the room. She quickly covered up her doodle and got back to her paperwork.

As soon as she got out of work she went home and got started on looking up places around Gotham to buy a full body latex suit. She found a few stores around the city that sold them and planned to go look at some later on. The phone rang and she picked it up and heard Bruce.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey what's up," she said.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner,"

"Sure," she said, "As long as no European supermodels will also be there." He laughed and said

"Don't worry they won't be," he said. "I was also wondering if you'd like to come over early and help me cook."

"Where's Alfred?" she asked.

"He's here," said Bruce, "I just want to cook up some of that amazing spaghetti your mom used to make and I know you still have the recipe." It was true; one of the most important things that Diana had taken with her when she left home for college was her mom's huge cookbook full of different recipes. Her mother had been an avid cook and Diana could always remember her in the kitchen trying new recipes or making new things. She had put together the book over the years. She smiled and said

"Alright I'll bring her cookbook."

Diana would shop for the suit later and she headed over to Bruce's.

* * *

When she got there he was in the kitchen waiting for her.

"Do you even know how to cook?" she asked laughing.

"I can try," he said. They pulled out everything they needed from the cabinets and got to work. They followed her mother's recipe exactly. Alfred walked in and said

"Hello Diana, what are you two doing?"

"Cooking," she said.

"I could have made you something for dinner," he said.

"Thanks Alfred but I thought I'd bring over my mom's old cookbook and make something."

"And I helped," said Bruce.

"Barely" said Diana laughing. When everything was ready they set up the table and sat down to eat.

"What have you been up to lately?" asked Bruce. Diana thought about Batman and her own plans.

"Nothing much," she said. "Just still a little paranoid after what happened."

"If you ever feel uncomfortable staying home alone you can always come here," he said.

"Thanks Bruce," she said. "It's made me more cautious which is good I suppose." They ate in silence and Diana glanced up at Bruce. She couldn't help but feel her jealously flare up again when she remembered him with the two supermodels. She didn't admit to herself that she had any other feelings besides friendship with Bruce. That's what they had always been and always would be. Everyone that she knew who dated their guy friends always ended up breaking up with them and it ruined their friendship. Diana couldn't risk that with Bruce. Although she wouldn't let her mind wander about furthering their relationship she had to admit he was handsome. What she had always loved the most about him was his deep brown eyes. When she looked into them she found herself getting lost. It was something she had started noticing in her early teen years. He looked up at her smiling and said

"What?"

"Nothing just thinking about some of the things we used to do," she said.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like hanging out with my cousin Zach," she said. Zach Atkins had been Diana's only cousin, his father being her father's brother. He lived a few tons over from Diana and often came to visit when Bruce was around. The three of them got along extremely well. The last time she had seen Zach was three months ago when she had visited her father. He had never left his hometown and lived there with his new wife Jasmine working as a plumber.

"I'd like to see him again," said Bruce.

"I'll call him tomorrow and see if he can come down, he's come to see me before."

* * *

By the time she left Bruce's house she was hurrying to get to the costume store she'd found online. She was relieved when she got there to see that it was open until 9:00. It was a strange store, full of odd masks and costumes of all kinds. She went to the back of the store where she found the costumes section. She found the black latex suits and picked one out, heading to the dressing room. Being a tight costume it took her a few minutes to pull herself into the suit. He looked at herself in the mirror and liked the costume. It was completely black. It went up to her neck and had long sleeves, covering her completely. For shoes she'd need boots of some sort but for now she was thrilled that the suit fit her. She saw it was 8:50 and quickly changed and went back out to pay. She'd figure out the rest of her suit later.

* * *

Bruce found himself on Diana's window ledge again. He peered into the dark apartment, seeing that she wasn't on the couch. He carefully opened the window, trying to not make much noise. He stepped inside and looked around. As he started walking to her bedroom he heard a voice say

"I should really call the police and tell them that the same man has been breaking into my house for several nights in a row since I don't need protecting anymore." He turned around to see Diana standing in the corner of the room, partially hidden by the shadow. She was smirking at him as he walked towards her.

"Look at my cool new suit," she said. She stepped out of the shadows and Bruce was shocked to see that he was wearing a tight latex suit. "It's not as fancy as yours but I think it will do for now," she said, looking down at herself. "I haven't got shoes or a mask yet but I'll figure that out tomorrow."

"What are you taking about?" he asked.

"I'm gonna join you," she said, "I'm not as weak or defenseless as a look. The only reason I needed rescuing from those guys was because I was drugged and had no idea what was going on. But I know how to fight, trust me." Bruce didn't know how to respond as he looked down at her determined face. He couldn't let her do this.

"I work alone," he said.

"Well so do I then," she said, "I'll be my own vigilante."

"No you won't," he said, "I won't let you do this." Diana smiled at him and said

"Watch me."

"It's too dangerous, you don't have the proper training, gear, or experience to do this."

"I'll prove to you that I do," she said.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said, "I refuse to let you."

"Just wait until tomorrow night," she said. She retreated into her bedroom. In shock, Bruce decided not to follow and instead he went back out the window. He hopped down into the alleyway next to the apartment building, crouching down and blending in with the darkness. Was Diana out of her mind? He should have never come back to her apartment after saving her. Maybe if he hadn't she wouldn't have been influenced into thinking that she could join him in fighting against the criminals in Gotham. He couldn't let her go out tomorrow night. She didn't even have the means to fly or get around the city quickly. The suit she had been wearing couldn't have been more then thin latex. It could easily get slashed through and was absolutely no protection against bullets. Did she think being a vigilante was like dressing up for Halloween? He'd ask her to come out tomorrow night for a late dinner. He'd leave himself enough time to talk to Gordon about the drug shipments afterward and make sure she was staying at home.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please review! Sorry for making you guys wait for this one I've just been really busy with college stuff. I'll try to get the next chapter out before this weekend cause i'll be going away for a few days.


	10. Chapter 10

Diana was reviewing the order information for several new cars but she was finding it hard to focus as her mind wandered elsewhere. She had picked up a pair of knee high leather boots this morning and all she needed now was a mask. She had looked at the masks that the costume store had and thought she needed something better then a simple black mask that covered her eyes. She came out of her fantasy when her phone started ringing. Annoyed that she'd been interrupted she answered and rudely said

"Hello?"

"Hey," said Bruce, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said in a more cheerful tone, "just a lot of work to get done today."

"Well then you'll be happy to join me tonight for dinner?" Excited that he wasn't choosing one of the many supermodels he was acquainted with she went to answer yes excitedly but then remembered that she wanted to go out for the first time tonight.

"What time?"

"8:00," he said. Why so late? As much as she wanted to get out to see the city she couldn't turn down his offer. She knew he'd turn straight to one of his supermodels friends if she said no.

"Alright, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he said, "Just dress really nice."

* * *

Diana left work at 6:30 and went home in a hurry to get ready to go out with Bruce. She had a few nice dresses she could wear out and chose a nice dark red strapless dress. As she was putting her shoes on she saw her black costume lying on her bed, waiting to be worn.

Bruce was fixing his tye in the mirror. To his surprise he had no trouble convincing Diana to come to dinner with him that night. He thought he'd have a hard time getting her to come. He saw Alfred walk up behind him.

"So how long has Diana had this idea in her head?" asked Alfred.

"A few days maybe," said Bruce, pulling on his vest.

"Diana has always had big ideas," said Alfred smiling, "Even as a child I remember her wanting to do the most challenging tasks, like climbing up the tallest tree in the yard." Bruce laughed and said

"Thanks to that idea I broke my arm." Bruce thought back to the warm summer day that Diana had come down to visit him. She had been eleven and he was thirteen.

"_Bruce!" He heard Diana yell across the yard. He turned his attention onto her._

"_What?" he yelled back. She was standing next to a huge oak tree. It was one of the biggest on the Wayne's property. If he had to guess it would take at least four people to circle the entire tree's trunk. _

"_Come see this!" she called back. Bruce sighed in irritation and dropped the bat he'd been hitting rocks with and ran over._

"_What is it?" he asked. _

"_Look how tall this tree is!" she said in amazement._

"_Ya I know," he said._

"_Let's climb to the top!" she said excitedly. "We can do it!"_

"_No we can't," said Bruce. "The bottom of the tree may have a lot of branches to climb on but the top half doesn't have much, we'd fall." _

"_We'll be fine," she said. She walked over and pulled herself up onto the first branch._

"_You really shouldn't Di," he said._

"_You're just a scaredy pants," she said laughing. She continued to pull herself up onto higher branches. Feeling torn between his own safety and the want to go and pull her back down from the tree before she got hurt Bruce paused a few seconds before making the decision to go on up after her. She was at least eight branches up ahead of him and he was having a hard time pushing himself up past all the thick leaves. He needed to catch up to her and he moved faster up the tree to get to her. He felt his heart skip a beat and adrenaline rush through his whole body when his right foot felt nothing but air as he tried to find a place to put his feet. He scrambled to grab onto one of the branches but it was too late and he felt his body falling to the right. Before he knew it he was flat on the ground and a huge amount of pain was coursing through his right arm. He yelled out in pain and held back tears, not wanting to cry in front of Diana and seem like a wussy. He felt anger as she easily hopped back down the tree without missing a step. She was far more agile then he was._

"_Bruce you're hurt!" she said worried._

"_Clearly," he said sarcastically. He blinked and let a few tears slip past. He sat up and yelled in pain as his arm moved. Diana had tear in her own eyes and she said_

"_I'll go get help!" She ran off towards the house and Bruce let the rest of his tears pour out._

Bruce came out of his thoughts and said

"It seems like every time I tried to help her or keep her safe she'd end up ok and be the one to get hurt."

"Maybe you should just let her do what she wants, who knows maybe she'll turn out ok without your interference."

* * *

Diana saw Bruce's familiar gray Lamborghini come down the street. She smiled when he pulled up and she got into the car.

"Good evening Ms. Atkins," he said smugly. She laughed and said

"You're not going to treat me like one of those supermodels you take out." He smirked at her and said

"Don't worry I won't," he said, "But there will be a lot of camera there, this restaurant is not a low profile place."

Ten minutes later they pulled up to the front of what looked like the entrance to the Buckingham palace. Like Bruce had said there were news reporters waiting outside with cameras. Suddenly feeling a little nervous she turned to Bruce and said

"I'm going to be on TV aren't I?"

"Probably," he said like it was no big deal, "Don't worry Di we'll get some privacy once we're inside."

"It's not that," she said, "I just don't want to be known around the city as your newest arm candy."

"Don't worry about what everyone says, it's all a bunch of talk." He got out of the car and came around to her side and opened the door. The flashes of cameras blinded her view for a few seconds before she stepped out, suddenly feeling very wobbly on her heels. She expected Bruce to curl his arm around hers like she'd seen him do with all of his other dates but instead he took her hand tightly and smiled at her. "It's ok, let's go inside." His warm smile made her feel better and she walked alongside him into the restaurant. Soon they were inside and the doors shut behind them, closing them off from all the obnoxious reporters. She sighed in relief and said

"That was interesting," she supposed Bruce was used to that kind of attention but she'd never been in the spotlight like that before. Bruce told the hostess his name and they were led to their table. His charming smile and smooth talk made her forget all about her plans for the night.

* * *

Before she knew it was 9:30 at night and she and Bruce had been talking long after they'd finished their meals. By the time they left there were no more reporters waiting outside for them and it was a relaxing car ride home.

"I supposed I'll make the front page tomorrow," said Diana laughing.

"Just ignore what everyone says, that's what I do," said Bruce shrugging.

"You like the attention Bruce, it obvious," she said smiling at him. They got out and Bruce walked her to her apartment.

"I had a wonderful time with you Bruce and I'm glad I went with you tonight," she said.

"Me too," he said.

* * *

Bruce knew the minute he left she was going to run into her room and put on that suit. His expression softened with concern and he softly put his hand on her cheek and said

"Stay safe Di," He ran his thumb lightly down her face before he turned and left. As soon as he got into his car he sped off back to the Manor. He needed to get home as quickly as possible to change and go out to meet her.

* * *

Diana did exactly what Bruce had expected and rushed off to her room. She threw her things down and pulled off her dress and got into the latex suit and boots. She still didn't have a mask yet so she'd stay out of people's sight for tonight and just check out the city. She knew getting around quickly was going to be a problem for her. Being a thickly settled area it wouldn't be much of a problem for her to jump from rooftop to rooftop. The buildings were all close together and she wouldn't have to make any magnificent leaps to get around. She started out by going to the roof of her apartment building. She easily hopped over onto the next building and to the next. She didn't look down at the alleyways which were at least four or five stories down and kept jumping. When faced with a building that was taller then the one she was standing on she jumped onto the fire escape or a window ledge to pull herself up onto the roof. She came to last building she could jump onto and was amazed with the amazing sight of the city. Out in front of her she could see all of Gotham's night cityscape. It was so beautiful and she felt hypnotized.

"What are you doing?" roared a voice from behind her. He jumped in shock and turned around to see Batman standing there.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please review! Don't worry about Diana and Batman's fight I'll have it in the story I'm just gonna stretch things out a bit and build up Diana's own superhero character more before I do it lol


	11. Chapter 11

Diana smirked and said

"I told you I'd be here," She looked up at into his dark eyes, not turning away from his intimidating gaze.

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into." She rolled her eyes and went to walk past him. He grabbed her wrist tightly to stop her. "Listen to me." she pulled away from him and said

"I'll do what I want." He went to grab onto her again. Before he knew what had happened he was lying on the ground. She had roundhouse kicked him straight in the face and knocked him off his feet. He sat up, frantically looking around for her. Four rooftops away he saw her running. The force of her kick had thrown him off completely. Maybe she did have some skill in fighting. Even if she did he still didn't want her taking on criminals. He couldn't have her interfering with his plans. He needed to get over to Gordon's to tell him about the drug shipments.

* * *

Bruce dropped down onto Gordon's porch. He needed to tell him what he'd found out about the drugs. Gordon walked outside with the trash and threw it into a garbage can. When he walked back up Bruce revealed himself and said

"There's a storm coming," Gordon shut his front door and said

"The scum is getting choppy because you stood up to Falcone."

"It's a start; your partner was at the docks with Falcone."

"Well, he moonlights as a low-level enforcer." Bruce remembered his first attack in the Batman suit. He'd taken care of Falcone's thugs and found him in his car. There he'd also seen Gordon's partner Flass. The drugs were separated into two groups. One was inside stuffed bears and the others inside stuffed rabbits. While he knew the bears went to drug dealers he wasn't sure where the rabbits went too.

"They were splitting the shipment into two. Only half went to the dealers."

"Why what about the other half?" asked Gordon.

"Flass knows," said Bruce.

"He won't talk,"

"He'll talk to me," Bruce couldn't wait to get his hands on Flass and see what he knew.

"Commissioner Loeb set up a massive task force to catch you. He thinks you're dangerous."

"What do you think?" asked Bruce.

"I think your trying to help," said Gordon. He looked away and Bruce saw his opportunity and leapt off of Gordon's porch, down into the alley below. He knew he had to talk to Flass.

* * *

Twenty minutes later after searching in the heavy rain, Bruce spotted Flass walking down an alleyway. He crouched at the top of a building and shot down his grapple cord. Flass walked right into his trap. It caught him by the foot, suspending him up into the air upside down so he was face to face with Bruce. Angry and disgusted with Flass' behavior Bruce grabbed him by the head.

"Where were the other drugs going?!" he roared into his face. Scared and disorientated Flass lied

"I never knew. I don't know, I swear to God!"

"Swear to me!" yelled Bruce. He released Flass and sent him flying back down into the alley before catching him up and pulling him back up.

"I don't know!" repeated Flass. "I never knew. Never! Hey went to some guy a couple of days before they went to the dealers."

"Why?!" said Bruce.

"There was something else, something else in the drugs…. Something hidden."

"What?" asked Bruce.

"I never went to the drop off point. It was in the Narrows," said Flass, "Cops only go there in force."

"Do I look like a cop!" Before Flass could answer he sent Flass falling downwards again and just before he hit the ground Bruce slowed him down and released him from grapple cord. Bruce knew his next step was to go the Narrows and see what he could find.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find what he was looking for. After scaling the side of a building Bruce climbed inside what looked like a small abandoned apartment. On the chair he found a pile of stuffed rabbits. Before he could get a good look he heard someone open the door and quickly hid. Crane walked in with two of his thugs.

"Get rid of all traces," said Crane.

"Better torch the whole place," said one of the thugs. They began to spill out gasoline all over the floor. Bruce followed one of the thugs into the bathroom where he quickly knocked him out by smashing him fast first into a mirror. Moving back into the main room Bruce snuck on the other thug, quickly taking him out. Before he could move out of the way Crane sprayed something into his face. Confused he scrambled around to stay on his feet. He saw Crane standing in front of him, wearing his burlap mask. Bats began to climb out of his mouth, and maggots crawled on his face. Bruce crashed into shelves and fell to the ground, unable to keep himself up. He saw a vision of his father getting shot as he tried to hear what Crane was saying.

"Having trouble?" He splashed a bottle of beer over him as Bruce tried to back away. "Take a seat, have a drink." The bats coming from Crane's mouth attacked him. Bruce tried to smack them away but they kept coming at him. "You look like a man who takes himself too seriously." Bruce could feel them crawling on him. He tried to pull them off but it wasn't working. It felt like they were underneath his suit, picking and clawing at his skin. "You need to lighten up," said Crane. He threw a lighter at him and suddenly he was on fire. Bruce felt the heat of the flames and knew he had to get back out into the rain. Through the flames and hallucinations he managed to find the windowsill and threw himself over it into the air. For a brief moment he could feel the terrifying sensation on falling and then he landed on a car. Painfully he fell off onto the street and rolled around on the wet concrete, trying to kill the flames. When they were gone he managed to pull himself up and run into an alleyway. He stumbled around and quickly shot his grapple gun onto a building, pulling himself up onto the roof. He pulled out his communicator

"Alfred help me," The world around him sunk away as he could feel the rain hitting his face. All he could see now was the same visions of his father and mother getting shot, and himself as a child crying over their bodies.

* * *

Diana woke up the next morning stiff and sore. She'd spent the night climbing and jumping over rooftops. It was probably one of the most strenuous exercises she'd ever done. Sitting up and turning on her phone she saw that she had a message. It was from Alfred. She listened to it and gasped in shock when she heard him say that Bruce had been hurt. She quickly got out of bed and started to get dressed. She didn't have work until later on and her martial arts class started in two hours. She had time to ride over to the manor and see him. She got into the car and drove out of town. What could have happened to him? It didn't take long to get there and when she pulled into the driveway there was another car parked there. Confused she got out and saw that the door was open. She saw Bruce inside with a woman, her back turned to her. She walked in and said

"Hey Bruce," the woman turned around and Diana was shocked to see that it was Rachel. "Rachel?!" she said in shock.

"Diana it's so good to see you!" They hugged and Rachel asked

"How long have you been in this city?" Feeling guilty Diana said

"For a few years, I went to college here." She knew that it would have been nice to go and see Rachel but they had never been nearly as close as she and Bruce. "I heard you're the Assistant District Attorney."

"I am," said Rachel smiling. "I have been for awhile now. In fact I better get going. I have to get down to Arkham." She turned back to Bruce and said

"Happy birthday Bruce," She handed him his present and then said goodbye to Diana before going back outside to her car.

"She seems really upset," said Diana.

"Ya well her boss is missing," said Bruce.

"Alfred called, he said you were hurt." She said in a worried voice.

"I'm fine now," he said.

"What happened Bruce?" she asked.

"While I was exploring the caves below the house I took a bad fall," he said. "Don't worry I'm much better." She looked at him doubtfully. To change the subject he said

"My party is tomorrow night if you want to come."

"Of course I'll come," said Diana. "Well I gotta go Bruce; I have to pick up some groceries before I head over to the gym."

* * *

Diana stood in line at the grocery store. She was looking at the magazines lined up in the racks and was shocked when she saw herself on the front of one of them. There was a picture of her and Bruce walking into the restaurant they had went to the other night. In big white letters it read: Bruce Wayne's New Girlfriend? She picked it up and saw it was a picture of her looking nervous holding Bruce's hand as he walked confidently ahead of her. The caption underneath the title read: 'Bruce's most recent one night stand.' Disgusted she threw the magazine to the ground and walked away. One night out with Bruce and the paparazzi was already all over it. I guess she should have expected it with all the photographers that had been there. Paying for her groceries, she headed out to her car. As she walked by several different shops something caught her eye. It was a Masquerade store. Out in the front window was a display of beautiful masks of all different colors and designs. In the center of the display a gorgeous silver mask was set up.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please review!

For Diana's mask I wanted to try something a little different so tell me what you think. They are the same masks but I changed one up a bit so it's a smaller mask. Let me know if you prefer the bigger or the smaller style. you can find the pictures on my profile page as the bottom. :)


	12. Chapter 12

Diana walked closer to the window to get a better look at the mask. It had silver star designs carved into the top part and was encrusted with jewels. She had to have it. She went inside and took the silver mask out of the display. It was made of metal instead of plaster. It was absolutely perfect and only twenty dollars. It would have to somehow stay on her face. She'd also have to add a little silver to her costume to match the mask. She looked around the store some more and found her solution when she found a bottle of body glue. It was strong and water resistant. It also wouldn't hurt her skin when she took the mask off. She went up the counter and paid for the glue and the mask and then left for work.

* * *

The minute she got into her office at work Darcey came rushing in.

"What is this?!" she said excitedly, slamming down something on her desk. It was the magazine that had her and Bruce on the cover. Diana rolled her eyes and said

"It's a lie; we just went out for dinner. The paparazzi are terrible." Darcey gave her a doubtful look and said

"Would you please just tell me what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," said Diana, "Really I'd let you know." Darcey gave her another look and then left to go out into the showroom. Diana dumped the magazine into the trash bin and then got to work. Now matter how crazy the gossip got she wouldn't let herself get bothered over it.

* * *

Diana got home in a hurry. She heated up leftover pizza for dinner and then quickly got her costume on. The black looked ok with the silver mask but she definitely would like it better with some silver on the costume. She pulled open her window and climbed up onto her roof. Like last night she jumped from building to building. Her new mask glinted in the moonlight. She would see perfectly through the eye holes and had no issue wearing it. As much as she wanted to be independent she secretly hoped Batman would show up again so she could give him a piece of her mind. Suddenly she heard a scream from somewhere down below. Looking around frantically, she finally found the source of it. A woman down in an alleyway was being pushed against a wall by a man.

"Please stop!" yelled the woman. The man was obviously groping her. Diana didn't hesitate to jump down.

"Leave her alone!" said Diana. The man turned around and walked towards her.

"I'm in luck tonight, what are you supposed to be? Some sort of space traveler?" Diana punched the man in the face. He hadn't been expecting it. He stepped back in shock, holding his nose. When he took his hand away it was clearly broken and bleeding. "You dumb bitch!" he said. He ran at her. Diana dodged away from him and quickly kicked him in the neck, knocking him to the ground. He was clearly disoriented she kicked him again, knocking him out cold. The women still stood against the wall, shocked and still horrified from what had happened. Diana turned to the women.

"Are you alright?" he nodded her head and said

"Thank you," Then she ran off out of the alley. Something dropped down next to Diana, making her jump in surprise.

"You should have just let me handle that one." She recognized the deep voice and looked up to see Batman standing next to her.

"I think I got it covered," she said smiling, "It's all taken care of."

"Nice mask," he said "If you're not careful you'll get in over your head."

"No way," she said. "I can handle things. You just need to stop being so full or yourself." You're not the only one fighting crime anymore." He grabbed onto her wrist again as she tried to walk off. Diana was sick of him trying to control her. She quickly turned around and hit him across the face. He stumbled backwards and said

"You're skills don't match mine,"

"Wanna test that theory?" She threw punches at him, hitting him twice before he grabbed onto her fist to stop her.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said.

"You won't" she said. She pulled away from him and went at him with renewed vigor. It was a tough dual. They were pretty evenly matched. Batman was better strength wise but Diana was better with her skills. He could easily dodge his punches. Finally she got him on the ground. Stepping on his chest she kept him on the ground.

"Who's got better skills now?" He had a small smirk on his face. She knelt down onto the ground over him and stuck her face in his "I win. I can do this job just as well as you can."

"This doesn't mean anything," he said in a softer voice. Diana knew he was lying, he knew he'd been beaten.

"I believe it means that I'm a better fighter," she said. Without having a valid reply Batman just looked at her. It was silent except for the sound of cars going by outside the alleyway. Diana realized how close they were. She could feel his breath against her face and pick up the slight scent of cologne. It smelled familiar, she knew it from somewhere. She looked into his dark eyes. He pulled her down into a kiss, or maybe she had been the one to lean in for it. His lips were soft and before she knew what she was doing, she kissed back. She realized she was completely loosing herself to him. The thought of Bruce entered her mind. His sweet smile and the loving way he treated her. She felt like she was betraying him. She pulled away from Batman.

"I won't do this," she said, "I need to know who you are." He was a real person. He had a face underneath. She reached for the mask.

"Don't," said Batman.

"I need to know," she said. She reached for the mask again and Batman grabbed her by both of her arms. Yelling she tried to pull away. She managed to get him to release her and she stood up off of him. He tried to propel himself up onto the roof to get away from her but she knocked the gun out of his hand before he could. She grabbed onto the edge of his mask and pulled. It came flying off and he stumbled off into the shadows. He had his hand over his face in shock. Diana couldn't see anything and walked closer to get a better look. He quickly pulled his gun out. Before Diana could do anything, he'd propelled himself up onto the building and run off. Lying on the ground a few feet away was his mask. Diana picked it up and examined it. It wasn't made of metal but some other type of hard material. There were no visible cameras or speakers of any sort. It just looked like a regular mask. She'd have to try and crack it open and see what kind of cool things were inside of it. Now that she had his mask what was he going to do? Come try and get it back? Or did he have spares? She needed to know who he was. In the back of her mind the kiss made her feel a twinge of guilt. Bruce wouldn't find out about it. Which was another thing, why did she feel like she was betraying Bruce? Why had she kissed Batman in the first place? She hadn't been thinking clearly. She had a lot to think about.

* * *

Thanks for reading :) Please review!

Sorry for making you guys wait for this one, I'll try to be consistent with my updates but it's hard between school and work. Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers! :) You guys are the best!


	13. Chapter 13

Diana knew that next night there'd be no time to go out around the city, it was Bruce's birthday. She tried to keep thoughts of Batman out of her mind at work and focus on her paperwork. She had come so close to seeing who he really was and she'd kissed him. She still didn't understand why she had done it. Had it been her to kiss him? Or did he kiss her? She couldn't remember. The day went by slowly and as soon as she left work she drove straight home to get Bruce's gift together. She hadn't spent much money on it. All she had needed was glue sticks and an album book. Finding a box of old photos of the two of them together, she decided to make a huge scrapbook. It would undoubtedly be the least expensive gift there but it would mean the most to him. She knew he'd find more value in it then a new Armani suit or some other expensive gift. Being a black tie event she decided to wear an elegant blue short dress with black heels.

* * *

Bruce was in the middle of absolute chaos. Holding a hallucinating Rachel close to his chest he headed for the tumbler. Crane had given her a concentrated dose of the toxin. He didn't have long to get her to the antidote back in the cave. Another thing that concerned him was what Crane had said when he'd gassed him with his own toxin. He had told him he was working for Ra's al Ghul. Bruce had seen him die, how was that possible? He quickly slipped Rachel into the Tumbler and took off. As he drove out of the Narrows he turned to Rachel. She was clearly disorientated and had a panicked look on her face.

"Stay calm," he said, "You've been poisoned." He dodged around several cars and thought of the best route out of the city. Driving into the parking garage he heard Rachel yell out

"What are you doing?"

"Shortcut," he said. He drove to the top of the garage. Seeing the only way out he blasted out part of the cement wall and drove forward, landing on a rooftop. It was a rough route but the only way out. He flew back out onto the highway and picked up speed, trying to outrun the cops. The helicopter above had a spotlight on him. Putting the car into stealth mode, he quickly dropped out of the light and disappeared. He turned to Rachel and said

"Stay with me," she gave him a wide eyed look of fear. He quickly came out of stealth mode and drove off the highway towards the cave. Sensing Rachel fading he told her to hold on. The waterfall was right in sight. They burst through the water and Bruce threw himself out of the tumbler, running to get the antidote. He opened up the case sent from Fox and flew back over to the Tumbler, injecting Rachel with the antidote.

It took her twenty minutes to wake up. He gave her a moment to look around before he asked her how she felt and explained that she'd been poisoned. In a small voice she asked

"Where are we? Why did you bring me here?"

"If I hadn't your mind would now be lost," he said. She tried to get up and he went over and told her to rest and not worry about Crane, that Gordon was taking care of it.

"Is Gordon your friend?" she asked.

"I don't have the luxury of friends," he said, "I gave you a sedative; You'll wake up back at home. When you do get these to Gordon." He showed her the other antidotes. "Trust no one."

"What are they?" she asked.

"The antidote," he said, "One for Gordon himself, and the other for mass production."

"Mass production?" she asked.

"Crane was just a pawn, we need to be ready," He stepped forward and quickly gave her the sedative, putting her to sleep instantly. He removed his mask when he was sure she was asleep. He'd have Alfred take Rachel home. He also remembered that he'd see Diana tonight at his party. She's come so close to unmasking him last night. He had to admit she was getting good. He couldn't let her find out who he was.

* * *

Diana stood in the crowded ballroom looking around for Bruce. She'd been there for forty minutes and still hadn't seen him. She didn't know anyone there and felt awkward just wandering around the room. Suddenly she felt someone grab her by the waist. Jumping in surprise, she turned around to see that it was Bruce.

"Where have you been?" she said smiling.

"Getting dressed," he said. She laughed and said

"You're worse then me; it only took me twenty minutes to get ready."

"You look beautiful," he said with a grin. She felt her cheeks blush red. Not wanting to make the moment awkward she said

"Happy birthday Bruce," For a moment they stared into each other's eyes. Bruce snapped out of the trance when he heard a man calling his name.

"I have to go greet some more people but I promise I'll come back over when I'm done," he said.

"Ok," she said "I'll stay here." He took her hand in his and kissed it, looking up at her with a smile he said

"I'll be right back." She watched him walk off and went back to looking around at the amazing cathedral ceiling and huge paintings that lined the walls. She stood there for another five minutes before she heard Bruce's voice speak up from across the room.

"Everyone. Everybody. I wanna thank you all for coming here tonight and drinking all of my booze." Diana laughed at his joke, wondering what he was planning to say. "No, really, there's a thing about being a Wayne that you're never short of a few freeloaders, like yourselves, to fill up your mansion with, so, here's to all you people. Thank you." The room was full of confused and angry murmuring. Diana was shocked. What was he doing? "I'm not finished. To all of you phonies, all of you two-faced friends, you sycophantic suck-ups who smile through your teeth at me, please leave me in peace. Please go. Stop smiling, it's not a joke. Please leave. The party's over. Get out." Diana knew there was something wrong she wasn't leaving until she found. He definitely wasn't drunk; he'd just talked to her a few minutes ago. She started walking towards him as everyone else cleared out of the room.

* * *

Thanks everyone whose stuck with me. I know it's been a really long time since I last updated but I promise you that this story is not dead. I've been extremely busy lately. Once I'm finished with applying to colleges and my teachers stop bombarding me with projects I'll definitely have more free time on my hands. Thanks for reading, please review :)


End file.
